Oracle of Ages

Did You Know?

• Two game books based on the games were published by Scholastic as part of the Nintendo You Decide on the Adventure series, written by Craig Wessel.
• The book based on Oracle of Ages was published in January 2002.
• The games were rereleased on the Virtual Console of Nintendo 3DS in 2013 and the Nintendo Classics service in 2023.

Plot

The game begins as the Triforce calls out to Link. Link is transported to a forest in the land of Labrynna, where he hears screaming. In a clearing, Link finds Impa, surrounded by monsters, but the monsters flee when they see Link. Impa then asks Link to help her find a singer in the forest.

The two find Nayru, a young blue-haired woman singing on a tree stump surrounded by forest creatures. A shadow emerges from Impa and reveals itself as Veran, the Sorceress of Shadows. Veran possesses Nayru, the Oracle of Ages; this disrupts the flow of time. Through Nayru, Veran manipulates Queen Ambi into forcibly conscripting every capable man in Labrynna to construct a large Black Tower.

Link must collect the eight Essences of Time, which are hidden in dungeons and guarded by bosses, before he can infiltrate Veran's tower. The main plot is revealed once the player finishes both Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages.

Development

In early 1999, Capcom's Flagship subsidiary head Yoshiki Okamoto pitched a Game Boy Color remake of the original Legend of Zelda to series creator Shigeru Miyamoto. His goal was to make the game accessible to young children, while also using it as a trial run for a more ambitious sequel if the remake proved successful. Unlike Miyamoto's usual approach of designing gameplay first, development began with the story, handled by Flagship. Some staff, including director Hidemaro Fujibayashi's team, wanted to skip the remake and jump straight to an original Zelda title.

As the original was considered too tough for modern players, constant changes eventually led to a completely new world map. This forced ongoing rework of the scenario and maps to keep everything consistent. The Game Boy Color's narrower screen, compared to a TV, added another challenge: players had to scroll to see an entire room, making stairways and wall clues easy to miss.

Reception

Oracle of Ages was a hit with both critics and buyers, moving 3.96 million copies worldwide. In Japan, it ranked as the third best-selling Game Boy Color title, with 746,054 units sold. Reviewers were highly impressed: IGN's Chris Carle declared the game, along with Oracle of Seasons, the finest ever made for the Game Boy Color, while Gaming Age's Craig Majaski called them the two best handheld games of all time. GameSpot gave the pair its annual Best Game Boy Color Game award.

Nintendo Power ranked Ages 39th on its Top 200 Nintendo games list, and later, in August 2008, placed it fifth among all Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles. Official Nintendo Magazine listed both games jointly at 57th in its 100 greatest Nintendo games, and Game Informer's Ben Reeves rated them collectively as the 10th best Game Boy games. The ability to link the two games via passwords was a standout feature, boosting replay value. Critics praised the visuals: Gaming Target described Ages as beautiful and creative, with meticulous attention to detail, and Gaming Age called both games the pinnacle of Game Boy Color graphics.

At the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Oracle of Ages for Console Role-Playing Game of the Year.